


I Know You Hate Me

by WonderHwanSeoLand



Category: 1The9 (Band), Under Nineteen (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Sweet, dance team leader doyum, hwanseo - Freeform, junhwan forever, or maybe not, seunghwan not dancing anymore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2020-10-28 03:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20771690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderHwanSeoLand/pseuds/WonderHwanSeoLand
Summary: "He's getting on my nerves.""I don't like him."*"I know you hate me.""You can hate me more after this. I don't care."*Lee Seunghwan getting on Kim Junseo's nerves by doing nothing causing an already frustrated Junseo to be more frustrated.





	1. Nice To Meet You, I don't Like You

Loud EDM music blared from speakers installed all around the beach club, sending echoes everywhere even in the open space. Ladies in bikinis and men in shorts moved to the tempo. Two pools in the middle of the club were full of people taking pictures and chatting, couples kissing, friends drinking.

By one corner of one of the pools, two flower boys stood side by side, chatting happily, ignoring all the attention given to them. Or at least they were pretending that they were ignoring them. Proof? Try getting closer to listen to their conversation.

“Yongha-Hyung, five o’clock. He’s looking at you. He couldn’t even move his head.”

The one called Yongha took a quick glance at the direction mentioned. He turned back to his friend in an instant.

“No, not me. You.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s you. And also that girl, two o’clock.”

“Come on, Junseo.” Yongha rolled his eyes. “You know I’m not interested.”

“I know. I know. Your heart is already filled with Sangmin. I’m just stating the situation.”

Yongha grinned.

“I heard my name.”

Yongha and Junseo turned to see Sangmin standing behind them. A wide smile bloomed on the elder’s face as he dragged Sangmin into his arms.

“Why are you here, babe?”

“I’m here with Doyum and Jinsung.” Sangmin pointed his chin at a table not far from the pool. “Final day of fun on the first week of the semester before things get serious, they said.”

“That’s very Doyum and Jinsung,” Yongha said, still not letting go of his grab on Sangmin.

“But who’s that?” Junseo asked. His fingers pointed at a taller guy sitting across Doyum and Jinsung. The guy was sharing a table with them but obviously was not part of their game as Doyum and Jinsung played rock papers scissors to decide who got to eat the last piece of chicken wing. His attention was totally focused on his phone. His fingers glided smoothly, and busily, on the gadget’s surface.

“That’s Seunghwan. Lee Seunghwan. A new transfer student,” Sangmin explained.

“My class,” Yongha continued.

“Really?” Sangmin looked at him without trying to hide his surprise. “Then maybe you can get him to join the team.”

“What team?” Junseo asked.

“The dance team. Doyum’s trying to get him to join. He saw that Lee Seunghwan’s dance video and said that it was really good.”

A frown formed on Junseo’s forehead. “The dance team? Our dance team?”

Sangmin nodded and Junseo’s frown deepened.

“What?” Junseo could not believe the news. Doyum did not tell Junseo anything about this. Even though Doyum was the leader and he was the vice, and Doyum did not have the need of reporting anything and everything to Junseo, but still this was the matter of adding a new member to the dance team that all the members loved so much. Junseo had the right to know. All the other members too, of course. Plus Junseo tried to get Yechan in but Doyum never agreed.

“He’s not the dancing type. He has a way better future if he focuses on his vocal team with Jinseok-Hyung. It would be better if he focuses on one thing he’s really good at than trying to juggle several things at once.” That’s what Doyum said, just two days ago. Junseo was still having a cold war with Doyum because of this. Well, what Doyum said made sense, but Yechan and Junseo went way back and there was no way Junseo was going to let Doyum say something like that as he wished.

When Junseo was still indulged in his thoughts, Doyum, Jinsung and Seunghwan walked up to the brim of the pool to say hi. Junseo only looked up when Seunghwan offered a handshake.

Junseo stared at the hand in front of him. Just thinking about grabbing that hand made his day worse. How was this Lee Seunghwan any better than anyone else? Than Yechan?

“Sorry.” Junseo finally shook his head. “I don’t do handshakes,” he said as he forced a smile. A smile so cold that he was sure that Lee Seunghwan would notice the hostility in it.

“Oh, okay.” Seunghwan gave a dry laugh, took his hand back and slipped it in his pocket, not knowing how else to react. A hint of awkwardness floated in the air.

“Well, we’ll have plenty of time for that after Seunghwan-Hyung joins our team.” Doyum broke the ice and looked at Seunghwan with a smirk.

Seunghwan let out a small sigh. “Doyum, I’ve told you I’m not going to join.”

“Hyung-”

“Oh, wow, would you listen to that!” Junseo cut Doyum’s words short. Not to mention how he intentionally turned up the volume of his voice. “He’s not going to join, guys. He’s not interested. Great. Now let’s all forget about this matter and pretend that it never happened. No one needs to ask anyone else to join the team.”

Now, the hint of awkwardness just grew in its size and covered the air around them, muffling the sounds of the EDM music and the voice of people around them talking. Yongha and Sangmin froze in the water while Jinsung tugged on Doyum’s shirt, gesturing at the silver haired guy to say something to break the silence.

“Uh-” In the end, Seunghwan started talking first. “I think I should go now. I have an appointment in an hour and I need to get ready,” he said as he lifted his phone, showing the screen towards the others. He intended to show them the time, but he forgot that the screen was still off.

Doyum and Yongha opened their mouths but Junseo still beat them to it.

“Oh, it’s fine. You can go now.” Junseo threw his sweetest smile, which was replied by a smile from Seunghwan.

“Yeah. Well, bye, guys. I’ll get going.” Seunghwan turned around as soon as he finished his words.

“Wait, Hyung!” Doyum threw a stare at Junseo before running after Seunghwan.

Junseo shrugged without much care and continued nodding to the music. The others could not comprehend Junseo’s behavior. Sangmin rolled his eyes. Yongha let out a sigh. And Jinsung finally opened his mouth.

“Hyung, don’t you think you went a bit too far?” Jinsung said as he looked at Junseo.

“In what way? I was just saying the truth. He doesn’t want to join, so why are you all trying so hard?” Actually Junseo was half worked up. What did they see in him? How was that Lee Seunghwan any better than Yechan? For your information, Yechan was one of the most multi-talented guy Junseo had ever knew. Aside from Byeonghee, of course.

“We are not trying hard, Junseo-Hyung,” commented Doyum who just came back. “It’s actually totally fine if he doesn’t join but do you have to say something like that to a transfer student? He’s new here for goodness sake.”

“Oh? Not trying hard? Then-”

“Enough. All of you. What are you doing right now? Fighting because of someone else? Doyum and Junseo, I thought you two were the best partners. That’s why you formed this team, no?” Yongha who was trying to stop the quarrel, seemed to have just made it worse as Junseo walked away after shrugging his shoulders.

“What’s gotten into him?” Sangmin commented. His eyes were still fixed on Junseo who was walking towards the changing room.

“Still sore that I rejected his recommendation, I think,” Doyum said.

“Yechan-Hyung?” Jinsung asked.

Doyum answered with a nod. “Yechan-Hyung is good at dancing. I admit. But him focusing on his vocal team would be a much better choice. Why does Junseo-Hyung have to have all of his best friends on the team?”

Jinsung pouted as he gave Doyum a light pat on the back. “Come on, honey. We can solve that problem tomorrow. Want to have a dip in the pool?”

Doyum shook his head. “I don’t feel like it anymore. I’m going back.” He then turned to look at Jinsung. “You can stay here if you want to. I’ll pick you up later,” Doyum said as he brushed his fingers lightly across Jinsung’s face.

“Nah, I’ll come with you.” Jinsung wrapped his hands around Doyum’s arm. “We’ll get going first then,” he said to Sangmin and Yongha who was already contemplating whether to go home straight away or to drop by at a café nearby.

Way to go for a final weekend of fun.

===1THE91THE91THE9===

“Heard you had a fight with Doyum?”

Junseo lifted his head and saw Byeonghee taking the seat beside him. It was almost time for their class and, due to it being only the second week of the semester, the class was full. Everyone was busy doing their own things, mostly catching up on the sleep they skipped the night before though.

“Nah, just some small things.” Junseo went back to laying his head on the desk, lying on his folded arms.

“About Yechan?”

Junseo clicked his tongue and sat up straight in a snap. He then turned to Byeonghee who was still taking his notebooks out of his bag. “Do you know that Doyum wanted a certain Lee Seunghwan to join our team after he rejected Yechan? I mean, it’s Yechan. And what good is that Lee Seunghwan guy? So great at dancing that Doyum even asked him to hang out together just to get him to join?”

“Well, personally I think that Lee Seunghwan is good, actually. After I saw his video, I remembered seeing him dance some years ago.”

Junseo rolled his eyes. “Byeonghee, not you too.”

Byeonghee chuckled. “Come on, Junseo. I heard that he’s not joining. Why do you have to mind him so much?”

“It’s not him,” Junseo justified himself. “Doyum rejected Yechan without a moment of hesitation and look at what he did to get this guy to join.”

Byeonghee sighed. “Yechan doesn’t even care whether he’s in the team or not, Kim Junseo.”

“Song Byeonghee! You, me, Jaewon and Yechan! Us four. We-”

Byeonghee shook his head. “I know, Junseo. People change and Yechan’s just not that into dancing anymore. Give him a break and give yourself a break.”

“I-”

“Good morning, class.” The professor’s greeting stopped Junseo’s words. But that did not stop him from saying what he wanted to say as he mouthed to Byeonghee “I always get what I want” and added a smirk after that.


	2. Nope, I Still Don't Like You

“Everyone here?” Doyum stood at the front of the practice room, his back facing the mirror.

The dance team were having their practice session that evening. All the members went there straight away after class. As usual, they started their practice with a chatting session, about school, their idols, dance moves, anything. Sometimes, Doyum would start their _real_ practice session by playing the songs directly and the other members would yell as they took their places. Other times, he would gather everyone around and give some pep talk. Like what was happening.

“Jaewon’s not here yet.”

Doyum rolled his eyes. “Let’s start without him.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Okay, guys. As you all know, the seasonal dance competition is less than a month. We’ve been practicing our new choreography every single day since we applied even before the class started. All that’s left to do is to stay focused, polish our choreography and make sure we don’t get hurt or get sick. You know the additional rule this time. Any group performing with members less than what they wrote in the application form will be disqualified. So since we’ll all be participating, I really hope that we can go through it together till the end.”

“So, guys,” Junseo voiced out as he walked to the front and stood beside Doyum. “Practice and also don’t forget to-”

“Hey guys!” Jaewon slammed the practice room door open in one swing, cutting Junseo off and grabbing all their attention. “Look who’s decided to drop by!”

Most of the team’s astonished expression turned into a smile. But not Junseo. The pretty boy rolled his eyes in an instant. _Not him again._

“Seunghwan-Hyung!” Doyum shouted. “Jaewon-Hyung, how did you get him to come here?”

“Persistence,” Jaewon answered with a wide grin, stepping aside to allow the others to welcome Seunghwan with what was seen as over-enthusiasm in Junseo’s eyes.

Junseo stood in front of the mirror wall in the room, pretending to set his hair as his eyes focused on the reflection of the commotion in front of the door. To be exact, his eyes was burning the reflection of a certain Lee Seunghwan who was all smiles as the others asked him to stay longer to watch their practice.

“Are you guys going to keep talking or are you guys going to practice?” Junseo finally could not stand what he was looking at.

“Okay! Okay!” Doyum clapped his hands to break the commotion. “Seunghwan-Hyung, you can sit here.” He pointed at a corner across the room where a small sofa was placed.

“Thank you.” Seunghwan walked towards the grey two-seater sofa while throwing smiles at everyone. His smile quickly froze when he noticed Junseo’s expression. The pretty boy’s sharp eyes narrowed as it followed Seunghwan’s movements. It was not even a poker face. Seunghwan felt the coldness and hostility very clearly. He was not welcomed.

===1THE91THE91THE9===

The start of the semester always meant skipping library trips because you could always wait until the exams were around the corner. But not with Byeonghee. Right after their morning class ended, he dragged Junseo all the way from the third floor of their faculty building, past the parking lot, the canteen, another three blocks of classroom buildings, the basketball court, the tennis court, until they reached the campus library.

“Byeonghee, it’s only the start of the semester, you don’t have to report to the library this diligently.” Junseo grumbled as he walked beside Byeonghee. They were making their way among the tall bookshelves.

“Junseo, can you please keep it down? I’m here to find materials regarding our group project for Professor Park’s class. In case you forgot, we have to submit our progress every week.”

Junseo rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll take these and wait there. You go look for whatever we need.” Junseo took the stack of books from Byeonghee’s hand and walked towards the common sitting area in the middle of the room.

“_Yongha-Hyung?_” Junseo frowned as question marks appeared in his mind. In front of him, Yongha was waving enthusiastically from the second table, trying to get Junseo’s attention. Most of the seats were empty as it was not the time to cramp their studies yet. And Yoo Yongha was definitely not one who would come to the library this early into the semester. He was the type that would sleep in class for the first few months and camp out at the library during the final month. _Why is he here?_

“You don’t need to look so surprised.” Yongha complained even before Junseo sat down beside him.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Junseo said, still with the frown on his forehead.

“And _you’re_ not supposed to be here too.” Yongha smirked.

Junseo rolled his eyes as he pulled the three books he brought to face him. “Assignments.”

“And I am one hundred percent sure that Byeonghee’s here.” Being Junseo’s neighbour throughout their school days allowed Yongha and Junseo to know one another’s habits almost completely. Yongha might not be the type to study early in the semester and neither was Junseo. That was basically how they met. They were playing games in an internet café when their mothers went looking for them to remind them that they had mock exams. They were scolded together in front of everyone else and that was basically the reason how their friendship soared in no time. Skipping lessons were always easier with a friend around.

“He’s still looking for more references, but there he is.” Junseo commented without a change in expression as he noticed Byeonghee walking towards them.

“Yongha-Hyung, it’s a surprise to see you here.” Byeonghee smiled as he took the seat across Junseo. Frankly, Yongha had no idea what to think about that comment. Was that supposed to be a compliment?

“Yongha-Hyung turned over a new leaf.” Junseo grinned.

“And Junseo decided to do the same.” Yongha gave a wider grin. So wide that his eyes formed two arches on his face.

“Hyung! I-”

“Yongha-Hyung, I’m sorry I- Oh, you guys are here too?” The voice coming from behind them caused Junseo and Yongha to turn around. Junseo could not hide his annoyance and rolled his eyes.

“Seunghwan-Hyung!” Byeonghee called, in the softest voice possible. The library was already quiet as it was with only two more students occupying the table behind theirs. “Now I know why Yongha-Hyung is here. It must have been tough dragging him here.”

Seunghwan smiled at the comment. Junseo had to admit, Seunghwan’s smile looked quite good, but no, Junseo was not in the mood to see his face. His morning was just ruined. Couldn’t this guy stop appearing in front of him?

“Ugh,” Junseo grunted as he grabbed one of the books in front of him and slammed it hard on his table, attracting the attention of everyone in the room including the two other students who lifted their heads and looked at the four of them. Even Junseo himself was shocked by the loud thud.

“Yongha-Hyung, I think I need to get going now. I still have things to do. I’ll call you back later, okay. Sorry.” Seunghwan pushed back the chair he was half-way pulling for a seat. “Bye.” Seunghwan grinned as he waved and left.

Byeonghee sighed after Seunghwan was far enough. “Do you have to do that to him every single time?”

“What?” Of course, Junseo was not the type to admit his mistakes easily.

“Give that poor guy a break, Junseo. He did nothing.” Yongha joined in.

“What did I do?” Junseo defended himself.

“What did he do wrong? He’s a nice guy, Junseo. You’ll know it when you get to know him,” Yongha added.

“Well then, what did _I_ do wrong? Why are you blaming me for doing nothing? He was the one who left and you are blaming me?” Junseo snapped. His voice caused the librarian to clear her throat several times, a hint for them to stop talking.

“Forget it. I’m leaving.” Junseo stood up abruptly and left.

“Jun-” Byeonghee did not even bother to finish his word as he heaved a heavy sigh.


	3. Stay Away From Me

“Hey, Super Junior’s Eunhyuk released a solo song!” Jaewon yelled as he scrolled through his Instagram.

They were having a short break after practicing for an hour. Most of them just sat down where they were standing except for Jaewon who moved to the sofa immediately.

“Really?” Byeonghee and Shihyun stood up, rushed towards Jaewon and sandwiched the poor guy in the middle.

“Guys I’m as thin as I am now. Can one of you please sit on the floor or something?” Jaewon yelled. “And it’s my phone!” He yelled again as Doyum grabbed Jaewon’s phone and opened Youtube to find the music video.

Junseo chuckled as he stood in front of the mirror and took his time setting his hair before joining them.

As always, they started studying the dance moves even before they finished listening to the whole song.

“I think he did this during that part earlier.” Doyum moved in front of them. They were repeating the song for the third time by then.

“No, I think he turned his legs like this.” Jaewon stood beside Doyum and started dancing.

Jaewon’s phone was already in Junseo’s hand as all of them stood up and sat down and stood up again to do the moves. Their eyes were on Jaewon who tried to do the ending moves and Doyum who started to correct him, all of which ended up in a debate, as the rest of the team watched on with amusement.

“What’s this?” Junseo frowned when the next recommended video automatically played. The video was quite dark, with some spotlights shining on a group of people dancing on the stage.

Shihyun peeked at the screen. “Oh, it’s a video of Seunghwan’s competition last year,” he said without giving it much thought.

“Oh.” That was all that came out of Junseo’s mouth.

The room turned cold as a wind of silence circled the room in an instant. Byeonghee’s eyes stared straight at Junseo. Jaewon and Doyum exchanged glances as Shihyun cleared his throat, his eyes moved between Junseo and Junseo’s reflection in the mirror. Seunghwan’s name became a taboo in the team after Seunghwan’s last visit to the practice room, which, incidentally, was also his first.

“Not bad.” Junseo shrugged after several seconds. Yes, seconds. He then proceeded to tap back to rewatch Eunhyuk’s music video they were watching earlier.

“Junseo, why are you so sensitive when it comes to Seunghwan-Hyung?” Byeonghee finally voiced out his thoughts. Everyone’s thoughts, to be exact.

“What? No, I am not,” Junseo answered. Coldness could be felt from his toneless voice.

Byeonghee rolled his eyes. “It’s too obvious, Junseo. Your expression changes every time you hear his name. Remember when he came here and you threw him those sharp eyes and even sharper comments? Come on, Junseo.”

Junseo put Jaewon’s phone down on the sofa. His annoyance exuded as he lifted his head and looked straight at Byeonghee who was standing in front of him. “I just don’t think he’s _that_ good. That’s all. Yechan-”

“Junseo, this is not about Yechan anymore.” Byeonghee stopped Junseo’s words. “Stop using him as your excuse. You need to sort things out with yourself.”

“Okay. Okay.” Doyum clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Time to practice.” He turned around and walked towards the centre of the room, followed by the others.

“Look, I don’t have anything against him. I just don’t think that he’s really _that_ good. You guys are overestimating him.” Junseo who was walking beside Byeonghee whispered to the tall guy.

Byeonghee let out a sigh. “Jun-”

“Junseo-Hyung, can you please stop?” Doyum turned around and frowned.

“Fine,” Junseo rolled his eyes. “I’m just trying to let you know that I don’t really have anything against that Lee Seunghwan and you guys should stop-”

Doyum clicked his tongue. “Junseo-Hyung, stop it. Can we practice now?”

“Junseo, do you know the law of attraction?” Byeonghee whispered as they stood according to their formation with Junseo standing in front of Byeonghee. “Be careful not to think too much about it, or you’ll end up attracting what’s on your mind.”

Junseo turned around in an instant and hit him hard on the arm. “Nonsense. Why would I even think about him?”

“Those at the back!” Doyum’s voice echoed in the room.

“Sorry!” Byeonghee yelled back. His voice turned into a whisper. “Who’s him? I wasn’t referring to anyone.” He then winked as Junseo turned to face him again. His eyes burning with anger. But they quickly had their focus back on the practice when the music started.

===1THE91THE91THE9===

Class was over just a while ago and Junseo was already half way to the practice room. He actually had time to rest since their practice session was not until late evening, but their competition was around the corner so Junseo decided to head to their practice room first. Byeonghee had something to discuss with the professor and there was no way Junseo would want to meet Professor Jung without any reason.

“Who’s that?” Junseo frowned. He was walking across the lobby of the theatre department when he saw someone standing in front of the theatre back stage’s entrance door.

The theatre department building, one of the buildings of the arts faculty, had always been Junseo’s short cut to the practice room. He could skip the blazing sun in the garden, the winding corridors, the stairs and the stares. Byeonghee did not like the idea of walking through back doors and stuff so Junseo could only do that when he was alone.

Usually, he would only pass by people after he entered the lobby area of the building, which was also the waiting area for the mini theatre hall on the first floor. Junseo entered the building through the back door, which was next to the back stage’s entrance. He had seen janitors there once or twice but janitors definitely would not be wearing an oversized red and black plaid shirt tucked in a pair of black jeans. Not to mention the sling bag hanging over the person’s shoulders and the black cap over his head.

Junseo frowned as he looked on from the side. The silhouette of the person looked quite familiar. He was quite tall, maybe just a little taller than Junseo. He stood straight facing the door. Was he contemplating whether he should enter or not? Was he a member of the drama club? Junseo heard that they had auditions this week.

Junseo’s eyes could not move away from that person. He kept watching as the guy looked up, his broad shoulders moved a bit as he heaved a sigh. Junseo tilted his head and frowned when he realized who it was. _Lee Seunghwan._

“You know, if you think about it too much, it’ll happen more.” Byeonghee’s words rang in Junseo’s head. Yes, Byeonghee just repeated it again this morning when he told Junseo that he was worried Professor Jung would ask him to join the lab team again. And, it happened almost right away. “It’s the law of attraction.”

_What the-_ Junseo shook his head to get rid of the thought which sent a shiver down his spine. There was no way that would happen to him, especially not in connection with Lee Seunghwan. He was definitely not thinking about that guy.

But then again, why was Lee Seunghwan behaving so weirdly? Since he’s in the same class as Yongha, he couldn’t have had any business here in the theatre. They were in the Modern Music Department and it was in a whole other building. What was he doing here? Junseo could not look away as Lee Seunghwan took a step, unlocked the door and headed inside. Was he trying to steal something? Was he trying to sabotage the props? Junseo gave a smirk as guesses popped up in his head like startled wild geese flying about in the forest. He then rushed to hold the door that was halfway swinging to a close and pushed it wide open.

“Lee-” Junseo stopped his words as he frowned. Lee Seunghwan was nowhere in sight. The backstage was wrapped in silence. He slowly walked around the area, peeking his head into several rooms. “So this is what it looks like,” he murmured. He was taking another step when a click sound caught his attention. He looked at the direction of the sound. The stage. He could see a light flickering at the end of the corridor. A moment later the light brightened and Junseo could see a sign with the words ‘STAGE’ written on the right corridor wall with an arrow under it, pointing towards the light.

Junseo smirked as he walked with his head tilted curiously. As he stepped closer to the end of the corridor, his movements slowed down until it came to a complete halt as he hid behind the black opened curtain, on the lowest of the three steps of stairs up to the stage. He popped his head out, just enough for him to take a quick glance around the area.

From where Junseo stood, he could see all the audience seats clearly. From the front row to the ones at the back. _So this is what it looked like._ His eyes narrowed as he tried to look at each and every seat. Then he frowned. No one was in sight.

_Weird._ Junseo took another two steps from his hiding place, thinking that he might have made a mistake earlier. That there was no Lee Seunghwan after all. But then… It’s a…

“What are you doing here?”

The sudden voice startled Junseo so much that he almost literally jumped on the spot. “What? Who?” He slowly turned to his left.

There sitting at the edge of the stage was none other than Lee Seunghwan. Junseo closed his eyes as he squeezed his face out of devastation. He forgot to check the stage. He was so sure that Lee Seunghwan would sit in the audience seat that he did not notice the stage area.

“Are you-?”

“No! No way! No! I was not following you or whatever you’re thinking,” Junseo blurted.

Silence blanketed them for a second before Junseo looked away out of embarrassment. What the hell just came out of his mouth?

“I was going to ask if you are joining the audition because they postponed it. But okay.” Seunghwan ended with a chuckle.

Junseo clicked his tongue and stared at Seunghwan. “Fine. Yes, I was following you. You were acting so suspiciously just now. Who wouldn’t? Hey, there might be a chance that their kind and amazing Lee Seunghwan-Hyung might not be so perfect after all. I was just protecting my friends.” Okay, this just became a-series-of-unarranged-sentences-coming-out-of-Junseo’s-mouth party.

Seunghwan sighed, stood up and took two steps closer towards Junseo. “Look, I know you don’t like me and frankly I don’t care, but I really hope that you don’t go through such lengths to make sure I don’t join the team.” Seunghwan looked at Junseo straight in the eyes. “Because I won’t.”

“Good.” Junseo stepped forward in an attempt not to seem lesser than the guy in front of him. But he forgot that there was still another step of stairs in front of him. And he fell. Right in front of Lee Seunghwan. Talk about embarrassment.

“Hey!” Junseo could feel that Lee Seunghwan rushed forward so he immediately tried to stand up despite the tingling pain in his ankle.

Seunghwan quickly held out his hand to help Junseo stand. “Are you okay?”

“Get away from me,” Junseo exclaimed as he pushed Seunghwan, causing the poor guy to jump two steps backwards. Junseo then threw a stare at him, made sure that Seunghwan could feel the disgust in there before leaving the theatre. His ankle was throbbing with pain but he tried his best not to limp. Not in front of Lee Seunghwan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a comeback!  
Stan 1The9


	4. You Again?

“Yechan-ah, please. I don’t know who to ask anymore. The competition is near. We’re going to lose the opportunity if you don’t join.”

“Junseo, you know it’s impossible for me to learn the whole thing within a week with all of my schedules. The competition is next week.”

Junseo heaved a heavy sigh. An extremely heavy sigh that could be heard by Yechan over the phone. And as an answer, Yechan sighed in return.

Junseo knew that Yechan was frustrated by his call since the night before. But he had no other choice. He went to three doctors right after practice the other day. The practice which he had to leave early from thanks to the throbbing pain that tortured him in his every move. And all three doctors told him that he had to rest for quite some time before he could resume dancing again.

“You know it’s best to let your ankle heal, Junseo-ssi.” Those were the words from the third doctor.

After thinking for a whole night and trying to dance in front of his mirror in his room, Junseo finally decided to tell his teammates about what the doctor had said. The more he moved, the more unbearable the pain became. Their group chat exploded with worry, for both Junseo and the competition. Junseo apologized continuously, to the extent that Doyum called him just to ask him to stop saying sorry, and that he could be of more help by asking someone to join in his stead. One person came to his mind. Shin Yechan.

“Hyung, you get some rest first. We’ll talk about it tomorrow during practice. Let’s meet as per our schedule,” Doyum said before ending the phone call.

Junseo stared at his phone after the screen turned off. Doyum was right. If he really couldn’t join the competition, the best he could do was to ask someone else to cover for him, not lamenting over his carelessness. But as he woke up this morning, he realized that the pain actually worsened.

So here he was, bothering Yechan while on his way to their practice room early Saturday morning. He left Yechan a message the night before and started bombarding the poor guy with phone calls after he replied.

“Come on, Yechan-ah.” Junseo pleaded again. “I’ll grant you a wish. What do you want?”

“Junseo, it’s not about that. I know how important this competition is. I am not sure if I can make time for practice, not to mention memorizing the whole choreography.”

Junseo frowned as he tried to think of another way to persuade Yechan. “Where are you?” Junseo asked.

“Library,” Yechan answered. “Why?”

“School library?”

There was a pause from the other end of the line.

“Kim Junseo, don’t.” Obviously, Yechan could guess what was in Junseo’s mind. “Look, if I can help, I definitely will. But I really don’t think that I can make it.”

Junseo sighed. “I’ll call you back later,” he said as the bus stopped in front of the bus stop near the theatre department. He limped for a bit when he stood up from his seat and as he alighted from the bus.

“It seemed like it just got worse.”

Junseo turned around and saw Byeonghee walking towards him. He could only force an awkward smile.

“Just what did you do to hurt yourself so badly?” Byeonghee walked up and put his arms around Junseo, helping his best friend walk properly.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” Junseo answered. _Especially not when Lee Seunghwan was involved._ But as much as he wanted to blame it all on that person, he had to admit that he’s partially at fault.

Junseo turned to look at Byeonghee as the taller guy clicked his tongue. “I’m sorry,” Junseo murmurred.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Byeonghee answered after a while. Junseo could sense the disappointment. Who wouldn’t be? They were this close to the competition and he just had to make things difficult. For the whole team. And they would most probably waste a whole hour talking about this instead of having their usual practice session. Heck, they could even drop out of the whole competition. Just because of him.

He was still halfway daydreaming when they were having their emergency meeting. They sat in a circle in the middle of the room, with Junseo sitting between Byeonghee and Doyum who took turns patting the pretty boy at the back.

“…Hyung. Junseo-Hyung!”

Junseo snapped back to reality when Doyum shook his shoulder hard.

“Are you ok?” Byeonghee asked.

“Do you think I’m ok?” Junseo answered with an annoyed expression.

“Hyung, look. It’s fine. Really. We’ll think of a way out.”

Junseo gave Doyum a dry smile. The poor team leader was probably the most devastated right now. “I’m sorry, guys.”

The whole team lowered their heads as the silence blanketed the whole room.

“How about we ask Seunghwan-Hyung?” Jaewon commented. Everyone’s attention shifted to Junseo in an instant.

“I’ll try to talk to Yechan,” Byeonghee said, getting all their attention in turn.

“I called him this morning,” Junseo reported. “He said he’s not sure that he can make it. It seems like his schedule is pretty full.”

“I’ll try my luck,” Byeonghee said again. “And you, Junseo, focus on healing your ankle and don’t force yourself.”

“But we might have to forfeit-”

“So? It’s okay, Hyung. It’s really okay.” Doyum gave Junseo a small pat. “We can join the next one. We’ll be even more well prepared.”

Junseo smiled at Doyum. Poor guy was trying to cheer him up when he’s the one who needed it the most. Doyum spent hours perfecting their choreography but look at what Junseo did.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Junseo said under his breath as the others tried to stop him from apologizing again.

Junseo spent another hour sitting on the sofa, watching the others practice without changing their choreography. They decided to keep things as it was while waiting for news from Byeonghee.

===1THE91THE91THE9===

Just like any other Saturdays, the school grounds did not seem any quieter compared to the usual weekdays. People walking around with bags, books and laptops in their hands. Cars and buses driving on the small street in the university area. The only different scene was Junseo attracting glances with his small limp before he finally decided to enter the theatre department building to avoid all that.

As he walked past the first floor theatre to reach the back door, the janitor came out of the audience hall. After hesitating for a second, he rushed ahead and held the closing door. Another second of dilemma. He shouldn’t enter the theatre, but he needed a place where he could be alone. With a suddenly empty mind, his hand pushed the door open and he stepped inside.

For almost half an hour, Junseo sat at the second row audience seat. In his mind, images of the group dancing on stage played countless times. With and without him. He even imagined the group being disqualified because the number of members was lesser than what they wrote in their application.

The more Junseo thought about it, the more he could feel the stinging pain in his ankle. The more pain he felt, his imagination became stronger.

Junseo heaved a heavy sigh as he could not get out of the vicious loop. He had to do something.

“To hell with this wound,” Junseo grumbled as he stood up and walked up the stage. He could not hide the limp and he had no intention to.

For some time, Junseo stood still in the centre of the stage, staring at the audience seats. The darkness seemed to be pulling him deeper in to his thoughts. He took a deep breath again before starting his moves. But during the second jump, he fell. Hard.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Junseo heard a yell from the corner of the hall. He looked side ways to make sure who it was but his attention was quickly grabbed by the stinging pain in his leg as he yelled again. Junseo was still grabbing his ankle when he heard echoes of footsteps rushing up the stairs of the stage, stopping right beside him.

“Let me have a look.”

Junseo frowned, recognizing the voice. “No,” he said. He pushed away the hand which was trying to reach his throbbing ankle.

“Come on, Kim Junseo. You’re hurt and it just-”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Junseo yelled, this time staring at the guy in front of him straight in the eyes.

“But you’re hurt and-”

“Lee Seunghwan, I said mind your own business,” Junseo growled. He then tried to stand up while maintaining the best poker face he could, but to no avail. His face grimaced the moment his right foot stepped on the floor and he fell to a kneel again. An extremely unbearable pain shot up his veins, even more so after the fall just now, but there was no way he would show his weak side to this Lee Seunghwan in front of him. He would rather die than-

“Let’s go to the infirmary.”

Junseo’s monologue in his mind was cut short as he realized Seunghwan kneeling next to him. The older guy held Junseo’s arm over his own shoulders, trying to help the younger stand while leaning against himself.

“I can go there myself,” Junseo said, trying to push Seunghwan away. But Seunghwan started guiding Junseo to stand up instead. Again, Junseo pushed Seunghwan with all his might. But Seunghwan just wouldn’t budge.

“Look, I know you hate me.” Seunghwan opened his mouth at Junseo’s third push. “A lot. But here’s the fact. You can’t go there yourself. You’re hurt and you just did something stupid that worsened the condition. I can help you get there so that you can cure the injury, get better and start dancing again. You can hate me all you want after we’ve reached the infirmary. You can even hate me more because of this. I don’t mind. But for now, let me help you go there.”

Seunghwan’s stern voice shocked Junseo. Junseo was almost hypnotized by the firm stare in Seunghwan’s eyes as they looked at each other. The next second, Junseo turned away in a snap and lowered his head. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his heart beat after noticing their extremely close distance. Less than a palm’s width, to be exact.

But Lee Seunghwan was right. Junseo had to admit. “Fine,” Junseo murmurred.

“Let’s go,” Seunghwan said after heaving a small sigh. His voice softened. “Can you still walk? Do you need me to carry you or-”

“WHAT? NO!” Junseo turned his head towards Seungwhan and yelled, not putting their distance into calculation, causing Seunghwan to move his head a little further from Junseo without letting go of his grip. Junseo noticed Seunghwan’s face grimaced for a split second.

“Okay, fine, I get it. You don’t need to yell.” Seunghwan continued helping Junseo walk, one step at a time.

As they made their way to the theatre door, Junseo stole a glance at the guy beside him. The yell earlier was louder than Junseo had expected. Considering how close they were standing next to one another, Lee Seunghwan’s eardrums must have hurt a lot.

Should Junseo apologize? He should. But then again, Lee Seunghwan was being a busybody. This had nothing to do with him.

Junseo blinked twice as he turned his head a little to look at the guy helping him. Lee Seunghwan even said all those words with such a stern look. But then he said he didn’t care. What was that supposed to mean? Junseo frowned as he thought of Lee Seunghwan’s words. But come to think of it, he had never been this close to Lee Seunghwan before. Surprisingly, Lee Seunghwan’s side profile looked… soft. His eyes, nose, and lips. Wait. What was he thinking? Junseo frowned. No, he was thinking of nothing. What was he thinking he was thinking?

_Come on, Kim Junseo. Get yourself together._ Junseo yelled at himself. _He’s just helping you. Don’t think too far into it. Wait. Why do I even need to think about this? What’s there to think about? Seriously, Kim Junseo, you-_

“Ouch!” Junseo shouted as he took a wrong step and a pain shot up his veins.

“Sorry.” Seunghwan quickly leaned more to the left.

“No, I-”

“It’s okay. We can walk slower. Are you fine with this?”

“Y- Yeah. I’m fine.” Junseo looked down, still stealing glances at Seunghwan every now and then. He noticed how Seunghwan’s steps became smaller. And how he leaned more to the left, lessening the burden on Junseo’s right foot. And how Seunghwan’s grip was actually quite strong. No wonder he wouldn’t budge when Junseo pushed him earlier. And not to mention how good looking Seunghwan looked up close. He’s actually quite charming when he’s focused on-

_Wait. What? Kim Junseo, what the hell is wrong with you?_

“We’re almost there.” Seunghwan’s words brought Junseo back to reality from his monologue in his mind.

Junseo instinctively looked at Seunghwan, but quickly turned his head again after noticing how their distance caused his face to turn red.

“Oh.” Junseo cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

“We just need to take the elevator and that’s it.” Seunghwan continued. “Hang in there. Just a little bit more. Does it still hurt?”

“What? Oh, no. Not really.” Junseo realized he could not really focus on the entire thing. He had been talking to himself in his mind all the way from the theatre and now they’re just two levels below the infirmary. But usually, in the dramas which Jinsung and Sangmin enjoyed so much, elevators would be out of order at times like this, giving the main characters more time to-

Wait. What was he thinking about again?!

But, fortunately, the elevator was fine and in less than three minutes, Junseo was seated in the infirmary as the doctor looked at his ankle.

“Kim Junseo, right?” asked the doctor.

Junseo nodded.

“Is it serious?” Seunghwan, who was standing at the side, asked.

The doctor moved behind his desk and typed on his keyboard. After looking at his computer screen for a while, he hummed and gave out a sigh. “Dance team, huh?”

Junseo gulped in anxiety. He had a bad feeling about this. His eyes stared at the doctor who was still facing the monitor while his hands tightened the grip on his knees.

“You have to stop dancing for a while.”

No.

“If you force yourself to dance, it will take longer to heal.”

No way.

“And there’ll be the possibility for not being able to dance anymore.”

Shut up.

“But on the bright side, if you really take care of your ankle, it’ll heal within two months.” The doctor shifted his attention back to Junseo. “You just need to rest for a while from your dancing activity. Remember to apply your medication. If it got worse, let me know and go to the campus hospital straight away.”

“But there’s a competition next week. We’ve practiced too hard to miss it,” Junseo said almost immediately.

A sigh came out of the doctor’s mouth. “Sorry, kid. A no is a no. Unless you’re not thinking of walking normally for the rest of your life,” he said. His eyes stared straight at Junseo.

Junseo opened his mouth and closed it again for several times before finally finding his voice. “You’re exaggerating it, doc.”

The doctor smiled. “No, I am not and you know that. You are very well aware of your condition, kid.”

Junseo tried to talk back but the doctor insisted on him having to go there again for another check two days later. He heaved another sigh before leaving the room. He bit his lips hard as he tried to suppress his emotions. He slowly limped outside, paying zero attention to Seunghwan who rushed to open the door for him.

“Just rest for a bit and it will all be better,” Seunghwan said as he walked up to help Junseo.

Junseo stopped his steps and shot Seunghwan an annoyed look, causing the elder to freeze in his tracks. “Shut up if you don’t know anything,” Junseo snapped and continued walking without hiding his limp. He took out his phone, found Yechan’s contact and tapped the call sign.

“Come on, Shin Yechan. Answer the phone,” Junseo grumbled as soon as he placed his phone by his ear.

“What is it?” A voice could be heard from the other end.

“Where are you?” Junseo asked.

“I’m with Byeonghee.”

“Yechan-ah, listen to me. You’re our best hope! Our only hope! We’ll have to drop out if we don’t get someone else to fill in. Please, Yechan-ah.” Junseo started pleading without giving Yechan a chance to cut in. “Where are you?”

Junseo heard Yechan let out a small sigh before answering. “Piano room.”

“Ok! I’ll be there in a sec!” Junseo reached out his free hand to press the elevator button but someone else beat him to it.

Junseo turned around to find Lee Seunghwan still standing behind him.

“Why are you still here?” Junseo stared at the guy in disbelief. Was he following him?

“I wanted to go down too?” Seunghwan lifted his right eyebrow.

Junseo bit his lips. He could feel his face turning red at the answer.

“You’re still having a hard time walking. I could help you-”

“No. I can walk by myself.” Junseo raised his head to look the elevator’s screen. It’s still stuck on the fifth floor.

“But you-”

“I said I don’t need your help!” Junseo raised his voice as he turned around to face Seunghwan. “You said it yourself that I can hate you more.”

But he did not expect Lee Seunghwan to react with a smile. “I didn’t think you would remember those words.”

Junseo turned to face the elevator door again as his face burnt with embarrassment. _This guy is seriously annoying._

The elevator arrived just in time and Junseo stepped in. He turned to face Lee Seunghwan and pressed the open button. “What are you waiting for?”

Lee Seunghwan shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take the stairs.” He grinned. “I get it that you don’t feel like seeing my face right now,” he continued and waved before turning around and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Junseo staring at the now empty space in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 200 days!
> 
> Please do leave comments and critics.  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
Thank you!


	5. What's This All About?

“You’ve been sighing for half an hour.”

Doyum raised his head to see Jinsung sitting down with two cups of iced Americanos in his hands. After putting one in front of Doyum and sipping the other himself, Jinsung turned on the screen of his phone.

“Thirty-three minutes, to be exact.”

Doyum let out another sigh before grabbing the drink in Jinsung’s hand and drank it without saying anything. Jinsung took a deep breath and stared at Doyum, waiting for him to start talking. Doyum was always positive and that was one of the reasons Jinsung fell for him. Him behaving like this proved the stress level he was having.

“Byeonghee-Hyung and Junseo-Hyung are still trying to convince Yechan-Hyung,” Doyum finally voiced out after another fifteen minutes or so. His eyes were fixed on the empty coffee cup on the table as his hands played with it. “But it doesn’t seem like he’s going to agree.” Doyum heaved another sigh.

Jinsung grabbed Doyum’s hands and held them tight in his own, having his boyfriend’s attention in an instant. “Do you want to try asking Seunghwan-Hyung?” Jinsung asked when Doyum looked at him.

“I don’t know. It’s obvious that Junseo-Hyung doesn’t like him.”

“But Junseo-Hyung’s not going to join the competition this time and you don’t have much choice.”

“You think I should just try?”

Jinsung nodded with a smile. “I know where he works part time. Let’s go!”

===1THE91THE91THE9===

“What are you guys doing here?”

Seunghwan was shocked to see Doyum and Jinsung walking towards him. Jinsung approached him first, in light steps and leaned against the counter which hid half of Seunghwan’s body behind it. Jinsung then turned around and looked at Doyum who stood behind him.

“Seunghwan-Hyung, I’m here to-”

“The competition?” Seunghwan cut Doyum’s words.

“You knew?”

“I happen to witness how Kim Junseo got hurt,” Seunghwan mumbled.

“What?!” Both Jinsung and Doyum exclaimed at the same time and then looked at each other before turning their attention back towards Seunghwan again.

It’s a good thing that the restaurant was almost empty at that time. It was three in the afternoon and the only table occupied was by a man sitting in the corner busy with his phone.

“How?” Doyum asked.

“Yeah! How? Junseo-Hyung wouldn’t tell us no matter how we asked,” Jinsung added.

Seunghwan opened his mouth and closed it in a second. His forehead formed a frown before he continued, “Nah, long story. So you want me to join the team in his stead?”

Jinsung nodded eagerly. “Please, Hyung. Please. The competition is this weekend and I know you can do it. You’re the only one who can do it. Please, Hyung. I’ll treat you to a meal. Doyum’s having a headache now with the team lacking one member. Please, Hyung. You’re our only hope. You-”

“Ok. Stop. Enough,” Seunghwan finally stopped Jinsung. Who knows how much longer he’s going to talk. “Has he always been like this?” Seunghwan asked Doyum who shook his head without shifting his attention from Jinsung. His smile grew wider as he could not stop thinking how cute Jinsung’s behavior was, all because he’s trying to help Doyum.

“So, Hyung?” Jinsung asked again.

Seunghwan looked at Jinsung for a second before turning back to Doyum. “Aren’t you trying to talk to that Shin Yechan?”

“Yechan-Hyung’s too busy.” Doyum gave a quick glance at Seunghwan before heaving a sigh. “He’s not sure that he can get the choreography done.”

Seunghwan nodded a little. “Actually.” Seunghwan stopped for several seconds, contemplating how to arrange his next sentence. “I was… Going to contact you that I can give it a try if Shin Yechan’s not available.”

“REALLY?” Jinsung shouted, causing the guy at the corner to look at them. Doyum quickly covered Jinsung’s mouth with his hands as he and Seunghwan bowed continuously at the guy to apologize.

“Yes,” answered Seunghwan in a murmur. “Kim Junseo said that you guys had to drop out of the competition if no one else fills in for him. So I thought that maybe I could be of help.”

“Thank you so much, Seunghwan-Hyung! Thank you so much!” Doyum repeated countless times, causing Seunghwan to chuckle.

“Nah, it’s nothing. Tell Kim Junseo to have a good rest and not to worry too much,” Seunghwan continued, inviting curious expressions from the two in front of him.

“You guys meet a lot?” Jinsung leaned closer towards Seunghwan.

“What? No!” Seunghwan shook his head. “It just so happened that I bumped into him every now and then.”

“Well, every now and then sounds quite often for someone who’s not in the same faculty and doesn’t attend the same club and doesn’t have any other reason to meet one another.” Jinsung smirked.

Doyum chuckled and looked at a speechless Seunghwan. “Anyway, thank you so much, Seunghwan-Hyung,” he said, bringing a smile to Seunghwan’s face as the topic of the conversation was shifted. “I’ll let Junseo-Hyung know about how you’re worried about him.”

_Or maybe not_, Seunghwan thought as he rolled his eyes.

===1THE91THE91THE9===

“Kim Junseo! Thank you!”

Junseo frowned with surprise as Byeonghee shouted and rushed to hug him as soon as he entered the practice room.

“You’re welcome. But what for?”

“Seunghwan-Hyung agreed to join the competition in your stead. He said that he’ll master the choreography in two days and join the group practice after that because he’ll need to ask for his manager’s permission for a change of shift for his part time work.” Doyum grinned widely.

Junseo blinked several times. _What was that?_

“And Doyum had to wait until just now to let us know all these,” Byeonghee grumbled, even though the smile on his face did not fade. “Now everything’s fine again.” Byeonghee could not hide his happiness. “And you can take your time to let your wound heal so you don’t need to force yourself or feel bad anymore.”

“Exactly. By the way, that’s also what Seunghwan-Hyung said,” Doyum continued Byeonghee’s words. And added a wink afterwards.

Junseo frowned. Deep. What was this all about?

“Come on, guys. Let’s continue. Seunghwan-Hyung just said that he’s almost done memorizing the choreography.” Jaewon put down his phone and stood up. “He said that he can join us starting tomorrow. I’ve also sent our schedules to him.”

“That’s fast! Lee Seunghwan indeed!” Doyum grinned and started clapping his hands to gain everyone’s attention. “Come on, guys! No time to lose!”

Though still puzzled, Junseo limped towards the sofa and sat down. There was no need to hide it in front of his members. His focus was still off as the music started and the members danced. The conversation earlier replayed in his mind as he tried to comprehend what was happening. Well, actually he understood what happened, but how did it happen?

Junseo kept staring blankly at the members as they danced repeatedly until they finally decided to have a short rest. Sounds of the members catching their breath echoed in the room. Jaewon took his phone from the floor and sat beside Junseo on the sofa.

“Guys! Seunghwan-Hyung’s asking if it’s okay if he comes now,” Jaewon asked without lifting his head. His fingers were busy taping on the screen.

“Ask him to come!” Byeonghee answered, followed by nods and yeses from the other members.

“Okay.” Jaewon promptly typed a reply but just before he tapped on the send icon, he looked at Junseo next to him.

“What?” Junseo’s forehead formed a small frown. “Why are you looking at me? Just send it.”

In half an hour, the door of the practice room opened and Lee Seunghwan’s head popped in.

Junseo still sat nonchalantly and played with his phone as over enthusiastic welcome rang throughout the room. Frankly, he wanted to lift his head and see what was going on in the other corner but no, not when they were hyping over Lee Seunghwan.

“Seunghwan-Hyung, do you want to start straight away?” Doyum asked.

Curious, Junseo stole a glance through the reflection in the mirror. His eyebrows raised a little as he saw Lee Seunghwan nodding at Doyum and then turning his head towards the mirror. Junseo quickly shifted his attention back to his phone as their eyes met. He could have sworn he saw Lee Seunghwan smiling because of that.

A moment later, the song played from the speaker in the room and Junseo quickly put down his phone. His task was to monitor their practice. Moreover, he had to see if this Lee Seunghwan was really that good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JunHwan content on twitter!  
Celebratory update!
> 
> Stan 1the9!


	6. Confrontation

“Hey!”

Seunghwan turned around as he felt that the call just now was for him. Kim Junseo was standing three steps away, staring straight at him.

Seunghwan frowned a little and pointed his fingers at himself. “Me?”

The pretty boy in front of him rolled his eyes and gave an extremely annoyed look, which was obviously on purpose. “Yes, you. Is there anyone else around here?”

“Ah.” Seunghwan let out a dry chuckle. Kim Junseo initiated a talk with him? Well, that’s a first. “Didn’t you leave with Byeonghee?” Seunghwan asked, trying to use the friendliest tone that he could use. This might be the chance to break the huge mountain of ice between them so that Doyum and the others would not feel awkward. Well, no harm trying.

“You said you’re not going to join the team.” A cold comment from Junseo.

Ok, Kim Junseo just ignored Seunghwan’s question. _He sure minds this a lot_, Seunghwan. “I’m not,” he said as his lips slowly formed an awkward smile.

“But they said you’re going to join this competition.” Junseo continued, still giving Seunghwan his icy stare.

“Well, you said the team had to forfeit if the number of members joining does not match the number you wrote when you applied for the competition.” Seunghwan explained without trying to cover the distance between them. “Weird rule if you ask me.”

Junseo frowned. “That’s why you joined?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to just dance for a week.” Seunghwan shrugged and flashed his signature bright smile.

“For a week?” Junseo raised his eyebrows this time.

Seunghwan did not answer. Instead, he tilted his head a little. A frown formed on his face. A second later, he straightened his body and walked towards Junseo with a smile. “Are you, by any chance, feeling threatened by me?”

“Huh?!” Junseo’s eyes widened in disbelief. What did the Lee Seunghwan just say?

“Are you kidding me?!” Junseo half snorted. “Threatened? By you?” Junseo so dumbfounded that those were the only words that he could say. It was as if his brain stopped processing at the comment of the guy who was now standing right in front of him. An incredibly presumptuous comment. Junseo could feel the heat rising up in his body as his heart started to pound faster. He closed his mouth and bit his lower lip, trying to contain his emotions. _Threatened? Really?_

But instead of continuing his previous comment, Lee Seunghwan started to giggle. “You’re cute,” he said.

Junseo froze. _What?_ His mouth opened and closed again without any words coming out of it. _What was that? _His eyes blinked as he could not take them off the guy in front of him who was still smiling.

“Anyway, you should focus on getting your ankle to heal. After this competition, they’d still need you on the team,” continued Lee Seunghwan as if his previous words never happened.

Junseo cleared his throat and took a quick deep breath. Did he just hold his breath because of what Lee Seungwhan said?

“O- Of course they still do,” answered Junseo, still trying to reorganize his mind. _Did he just call me cute?_ “That’s why I’m doing my best to let my foot heal,” he continued. His eyes blinked several times as he could not control his nerves. He could only hope that his face did not turn red.

Seunghwan smiled. “That’s the spirit,” he said as he ruffled Junseo’s hair.

Junseo’s eyes widened the moment Seunghwan’s hand touched his hair. “DON’T!” Junseo yelled and slapped Seunghwan’s hand away.

Junseo’s extreme reaction shocked Seunghwan. The elder jumped a little and quickly put his hand in his jeans pocket. Junseo’s face was burning with anger he reset his hairstyle. “Don’t touch my hair!”

Junseo’s hair had always been one of his most sensitive points. No one, not even his parents, could do anything to it and get away with it. Byeonghee, Yechan and Jaewon even once thought of spreading a rumour that it was a wig, which of course was an open invitation to Junseo’s wrath.

”S- Sorry.” Seunghwan looked at Junseo who was still busy setting his hair. His put his hands together in front of him in an attempt to apologize as he continued his words with a small frown. “But sometimes your expression invites a ruffle.”

“What?!” Junseo shot a sharp look at Seunghwan. His eyebrows burrowed deeply, clearly showing his annoyance.

Seunghwan started to fluster. He had no idea that things would escalate this way. He just thought that an angry Junseo was actually kind of cute and ruffled his hair unknowingly. And, well, now he regretted it. His attempt to lighten the mood between them just made things worse. Far worse than before. “I- I’m just kidding! Come on, you need to get to the infirmary, right? I- I’ll walk you there.”

Junseo closed his eyes to calm himself down. “No thanks. I can go there on my own,” he answered after taking several deep breaths.

Junseo then walked, or rather, limped even before he finished the sentence, bumping into Seunghwan on purpose with his head held up high.

“Are you sure?” Seunghwan turned around.

“Yes,” Junseo answered without stopping his steps.

“O- Ok then.” Seunghwan answered hesitantly. It was clear that Junseo would need his help, but it was also obvious that he would not want it. Just then, Seunghwan noticed his bus arriving. “Well, my bus is here. Be careful.”

Still limping forward one step at a time, Junseo could hear the sound of the bus getting closer, the doors opening and closing, the faint tapping sounds and finally the engine of the bus as it drove away. He stopped his steps as soon as the bus turned at the corner down the road.

Junseo let out a long sigh. His left hand reached his chest and pressed hard. He could hear the pounding even with all the cars driving along the road next to him.

_What just happened?_ A question that rang in Junseo’s mind for who knows how many times. _Did he just call me cute?_

Junseo’s hands touched his cheeks to make sure the temperature was normal, because his heartbeat certainly made him feel like he was having a fever.

“No,” Junseo mumbled after several deep breaths. “Kim Junseo, no. You’re furious. Yeah. That’s right. You feel this hot because you’re mad. You’re full of anger. He just said that you’re threatened by him! There’s no way that’s ever going to happen. Right.”

Junseo started walking again. His mumbling did not stop though. “Exactly,” he continued. “There’s no way that you’d feel threatened by him. Yeah! No way! And there’s no way that your heartbeat would go all crazy because of whatever stupid things he just said. Nope. No way.”

A second after Junseo tried to brainwash himself to stay calm, Seunghwan’s words rang in his head again.

“But he did just say that I was cute. Did he? No. I must have heard wrongly. It must have been a mistake.” Junseo kept talking to himself. He did not notice all the weird stares he had been receiving since just now. He also did not notice that he walked past the infirmary building until he was two blocks away and had to walk back.

“That’s right, Kim Junseo. No way.” Seems like the rest of the day would not be a calm one for Junseo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back! Thank you for leaving the supportive comments! I'll try to post routinely. Love you!

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing a multiple chapter fanfic. Hope you like it!
> 
> There hasn't been much JunHwan interaction and I'm missing my favourite ship so....
> 
> By the way, stan 1the9.


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